FOUNTAIN VALLEY – The first day of the Five Counties Invitational was long, but not for Fountain Valley’s Merrick O’Donnell.
O’Donnell, the fourth seed at 182 pounds, went 3-0, winning all three matches by fall in the first period. His final two matches ended in 13 and 17 seconds at Fountain Valley High on Friday night.
“I’ve been training hard mentally and physically and coming into a tough tournament like this, right off the start it was great getting those quick pins,” O’Donnell said.
O’Donnell will start today in the quarterfinals at 9 a.m. against fifth-seeded Noah Kelsoe of Norco, with a possible match against top-seeded Angel Solis of Lemoore looming in the semifinals.
The semifinals are set to start at approximately noon.
“I just want to wrestle,” he said. “Whoever steps up I’ll wrestle them the same way I do anyone.”
Last year, O’Donnell’s season ended when he suffered a broken eye socket.
“Overall, I’m feeling good,” he said. “I came into this season feeling healthy and great. I think last year I was really worried about what other people were thinking about how I was wrestling since I transferred. This year, I have to go out there, wrestle the way I wrestled and do it for myself and the team.”
O’Donnell isn’t the only Barons wrestler in the quarterfinals. Karson Ayres went 2-0 at 145 pounds. Jack O’Donnell went 4-1 at 126 pounds to survive the first day.
Northview of Covina held the lead at the end of the first day with 96.5 points, followed by Selma (92) and Servite (85).
There could be an all-Servite clash in the semifinals at 120. Josh Medina won his two matches by fall and Marcos Polanco, who is wrestling as Servite B this weekend, went 3-0.
Trabuco Hills has three wrestlers – Brian Hernandez, Trey Munoz and Cody Burdette – in the quarterfinals. Burdette went 3-0 on Friday, recording two falls and a major decision.
Mater Dei’s Joey McLauglin (106) and Devin Pacheco (138) went 3-0, as did Trabuco Hills’ Brian Hernandez (120), Santa Ana’s Anthony Reveles (132), Marina’s John McCoy (138) and Capistrano Valley’s Gerardo Hernandez (182).
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@scng.com
